


The Child of Mischief is Tragedy

by summerlove_jls



Series: Mischief's Brood [6]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Description of the murder of a child (semi-graphic), F/M, Implied/Referenced Death in Childbirth, Loki's Kids, Loki's Kids are BAMF in their own way, all the feels, bending mythology to my will, mention of stillborn birth, references to child soldiers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-30
Updated: 2014-07-30
Packaged: 2018-02-11 01:20:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2047764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/summerlove_jls/pseuds/summerlove_jls
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tragedy lingers and tragedy is overcome for the children of mischief.  Clint, Vali and Bruce bond because of tragedy.  Fury and Hela aren't afraid to get their hands dirty.  Heed the warnings in the tags.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Child of Mischief is Tragedy

**Author's Note:**

> Please note the warning in the tags. This one has some darker themes running through it. Part 6 of Mischief's Brood...things won't make a lot of sense without those previous installments. This installment is a roller coaster of happenings and emotions. I apologize if this seems jumpy; these events are strung together through a loose thread. Thanks to all who have read the previous installments, gave kudos and offered comments. Please drop me a comment and let me know what you think. The comments mean the world. Thanks and Enjoy.

Vali pulled the knife from his sleeve and plunged it into Nari’s heart.  He pulled the knife out and drove it into the boy’s chest again.  Vali stabbed him a third time as blood poured from the wounds on Nari’s chest.   Vali stared into the eyes of betrayal; essence fleeting from the boy as his lifeblood covered the hand that was still wrapped around the black handle of the blade.  Vali released his grip and trailed his hand down his own cheek, leaving a path of blood in its wake.  Nari’s soul spirited away to join his sister in the realm of the dead.  Vali’s glazed eyes stared at the boy’s body.  He placed his hand on the boy’s chest coating it in blood again before he smeared it down the other side of his face and neck.

Vali bolted up in his bed, covered in sweat, harsh breaths loudly ripped from his lungs as if he had been trapped in a freezer, shivers raking his body.  The door to his room flew open as Jormungandr stumbled in. 

“I’ll killed him, Jor.”  Vali shaky voice uttered as he wrapped his arms around his chest and rocked back and forth.  “I killed Nari.”  

“No, Vali.  That was not you.  Someone else killed Nari and used you as a weapon.  They took your will away.  It was not you.”  Jormungandr crawled across Vali’s bed and wrapped his younger brother in his arms as Vali began to sob and cry himself back to sleep.   

Vali had his crazy and often amusing eccentricities, strange and quirky obsessions at times, an embracing love of trends and fads but few knew the darker part of Vali’s mind; the shadows that lurked in the corner waiting to engulf and drown Vali in sorrow and heartbreak.  It caused Vali to have a strong urge for vengeance for any that would bring harm to those he loved and the dark part of his soul would stop at nothing to ensure those he cherished were safe.  Vali wasn’t a berserker by any means and he very rarely had to act on such desires; but should action need to be taken, Vali would be able to do it with deadly stealth and precision. 

But here, in the dead of night, cradled in Jormungandr arms, Vali was a child with a ripped soul, mourning for his brother, long dead but always treasured. 

* * *

 

 “I want to show you something.”  Tony said as he approached Bruce, who was sitting at the dining table on the communal floor, sipping tea as he read through a journal article on his tablet. 

“Your lab or mine?”  Bruce asked as he marked his spot and closed the app.

“Neither, actually.”  Tony answered as he brewed a cup of coffee from the most high tech coffee machine Bruce had ever seen.  “It’s a video from our last call to assemble…well actually, it’s from right after the fight.”

Tony motioned Bruce into the lounge as he queued up the video that Jarvis had recorded.  They both sat on one of the sofas as the video started with Tony asking the Hulk ‘what was up?’

After Hulk answered, Bruce asked, “Does he always talk to you guys?”

Tony paused the video.  “He usually doesn’t initiate conversation but he will answer when we ask him stuff.  This was unusual because once the smashing is done he usually lets you back into the driver seat.”

When Hulk told Clint that he missed Hela, Bruce let out a small gasp.  The video continued and Hulk proceeded to tell Clint about the smiles that Hela gave.  Blush crept up Bruce neck and his face.  “Oh…my god.”  Bruce was taken aback.

“He totally sold you out there, buddy.”  Tony patted Bruce’s shoulder.

Bruce kept watching as Hulk told Clint he wanted to know if Hela would smile at him like she did for Bruce

“I had no idea he was so aware.  And not just that, but that he could articulate what he observed and what he feels.  There’s actual feelings there…that aren’t angry.”  Bruce’s mouth hung open after he stopped talking, face full of shock. 

The video continued and Hulk told Clint that he wouldn’t hurt Hela and that he tried to tell Bruce.  Tony confirmed that it was the day that Hela came to the Tower.

“He was so loud that day.  It was strange because it wasn’t the angry rumbling that it usually is.  It was excitement and joy.  I thought he was going to burst out of my head when she said she could grow to a bigger form.”  Bruce told Tony as his eyes still had shock at what he was seeing. 

“Oh, this gets better, my little love-struck science bro.”  Tony said with a smirk

“Oh no.”  Bruce sighed.

The video played on and after a few minutes Hela appeared next to Clint.

“What?”  Bruce exclaimed quietly to himself.

The video showed Hulk talking to Hela and then she shifted to her larger form. 

“How?”  Bruce said as he looked to Tony, who paused the video again.

“You missed the giant snake.  It’s Loki’s freaky kids, man.”

“She’s not freaky…It’s amazing.”  Bruce turned back to the screen.

“Oh you’ve got it bad, Brucie!”  Tony grinned at Bruce.

“I hardly know her, Tony.”  Bruce tried to dismiss Tony’s claim.

“Well, apparently there was enough of spark to start something.  Just watch.”  Tony started the video again. 

Hela told Hulk that she missed Bruce as well and that now she would miss Hulk too.  Bruce watched as she leaned in and hugged Hulk.

“Why is she not afraid?”  Bruce asked unbelievably.

“Buddy, who knows what she’s seen.  And right there, Hulk isn’t really that scary.”

Bruce watch as Hulk moved his hands and patted Hela on the back.

Bruce let out a disbelieving sigh.  “He’s trying to be careful.”  Bruce shook his head back and forth as he continued to watch.

Bruce reached up and touched his cheek when he saw Hela kiss Hulk on his cheek.  She walked away and disappeared.

Tony stopped the video and Bruce stared at the blank screen for a few moments before he looked over to Tony.  “I wouldn’t have believed it if you hadn’t shown it to me.”

“No more talk of him as a mindless monster.”  Tony told him.

“I had no idea he could be like that.  How do we know this isn’t a fluke?”  Bruce was still in shock.

“I don’t think it is.  He retained memories of things that happened to you.  He knew how you felt and he knew how he felt.  He understood why she had to go and he accepted it.”  Tony took a drink of his coffee.  “And he’s gotten further with your girl that you have.”

“She’s not my girl.  Oh my god, he said that stuff in front of everyone.”  Bruce put his head in hands.

“Relax, Bruce.  This isn’t high school.  I know you’ve been off the playing field for a while, but no one’s going to gossip about you behind your back or tease you about it.  Well….except for me.”  Tony chuckled.

Bruce groaned.

“Look at it this way, you have a permanent wing man who is not afraid to say what needs to be said.  She seems to like him and he definitely likes her.  You better get with the game or he’s going to steal her away from you before you’ve even had a chance.  On the other hand, with her rapport with him _and_ her ability to get bigger and to calm people…remember how she settled Clint down when Loki was doing his thing…you probably will finally be able enjoy some sexy times.”  Tony encouraged.

“You are not helping, Tony.”

“In all seriousness…you need to re-evaluate your profile of Hulk.  Here you have irrefutable proof of his cognitive and emotional functioning.  He’s been trying to communicate with you, maybe you should see if it can work the other way.  And I was being serious about the sexy times.  Bruce you need to get laid…how long has it been…years?  She seems like a sweet girl too…right up your alley with that introverted, self-loathing scientist thing you’ve got going on.  But, I bet she’s a bad ass underneath all that.  She would probably fuck somebody up if she had too.  Yes, we’ve seen sweet Hela, ‘sister’ of Clint…we need to further investigate bad ass Hela, Queen of the Dead.” 

“Don’t you have something that you need to blow up or set on fire right now?”

Tony laughed as he got up and went back to kitchen for more coffee before he headed back down to his lab. 

“You’ve got a lot to think about, my friend.”  Tony called from down the hallway.

Bruce shook his head and he tried not to let hope overtake him.  He needed to keep things in perspective.  He needed to not let emotions cloud his judgment.  That didn’t stop him from lightly rubbing his cheek again where Hela had kissed Hulk.

* * *

 

Darkness filled the palace as he walked through the hallways.  His mind was determined and his steps were deliberate as he carried out his mission.  He flung the door to Loki’s chamber open; the room was darkened with only the starlight trickling through the drapery on the windows.  The lavish bed was in the center of the room with the prince still slumbering despite the intruder in the room.  He stalked over to the bed and climbed upon the sleeping man, wrapping his hands around his throat and began to squeeze.  Loki thrashed when he woke suddenly as the attack began.  He fought and bucked his attacker off of him and onto the floor.

Vali woke up as he hit the floor after falling out of bed.  He took several deep breaths as he willed his racing heart to slow down, staring at his shaking hands.  He rooted around on the floor and pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, slipping his neon green and black converse sneakers on his socked covered feet.

He padded down the hallway and opened Jormungandr bedroom door.

“Jor?”  Vali called.

“Hm?”  Jor sleepily answered.

“I’m going out.  I need some air and a change of scenery.  I’ve got my phone.  Don’t worry.”

“Mm-hm.  Just be careful.”

“I will.”  Vali responded as he closed the bedroom door.

* * *

 

Clint sat on the balcony off of the common floor of Stark Tower.  It was about 3 in the morning.  He wasn’t going to get anymore sleep after the nightmare he just had.  He gazed over the city that was still lit up even though it was the middle of the night.  The cool night air was a comfort after he woke up sweaty and tangled in his sheets. 

He felt a familiar shift in the air that was indicative of someone teleporting nearby.  He caught the shimmer out of the corner of his eye and turned to see Vali leaning against the railing.  Clint nodded to Vali as he came over and took a seat next to Clint.

 They didn’t say anything for a few minutes as they both gazed out over the city. 

“There’s not many people who understand what it’s like to be haunted by things you’ve done when you aren’t yourself.”  Clint said without looking away from the city.

Vali looked over at Clint, dark circles under his eyes.  “It’s a pretty shitty club to be a member of.”

“What kind of club is that?”  Bruce asked as he came through the sliding glass door and onto the balcony. 

“People who do horrible things when they aren’t themselves and then have nightmares about it.”  Clint answered.

“Yeah.  Guess I’m a member of that crappy club, too.”  Bruce responded as he took a seat next to Vali.

The three sat there in silence for a while.

“Sometimes I dream about killing all of them, not just Nari.  Sometimes I look like I should and not a wolf.”  Vali broke the silence.  He let out a shaky breath.

“I’m usually killing Nat…sometimes the others.”  Clint added.

There was a minute of silence. 

“I’ve started to dream about hurting Hela.”  Bruce looked down at the ground as he spoke.

Clint and Vali turned to look at Bruce.  He looked up at them with sad eyes.

“Tony showed me the video of the Other Guy asking you about her and her coming to talk to him.  That night was the first time I dreamed about hurting her.  I know Hulk said he wouldn’t hurt her, but the fear is still there.”

“You know, I doubt that could actually happen.”  Vali stated.

Bruce nodded.  “You know her better than I do.”  Bruce said ruefully.  “It’s hard not to think about it, though.”

“You not knowing her that well can be remedied.”  Vali said as an aside.

Silence descended upon the trio again.

“For a while, it was me stabbing Coulson with the scepter.  I had his blood all over my hands.”  Clint turned his attention back to the New York skyline.

“Did I mention that this club really sucks?”  Vali threw in.  After a few moments he added, “We should change the subject.”

No one spoke for a brief while.

Bruce turned to look at Vali.  “What’s the most interesting thing about living on Earth?”

Vali thought for a moment.  “The way things are always changing.  Not just your advances in technology and science and your progress in general but the culture, the life itself….it make it so it’s never dull here.  We’ve been pretty good with keeping up with the times.  I think we’re more Midgardian than Aesir sometimes.”

The trio chatted about nothing as they watched the sun rise over the city

* * *

 

The New York headquarters of SHIELD was a flurry of activity.  Final touches were being made to a large conference room where negotiations were to be held.  This would be the first time that official negotiations with another planet or realm would be taking place.  All dealings with Thor seemed informal and Thor seemed to represent himself instead of his whole realm.  The goal of these negotiations would be a formal alliance with another realm.  While most of SHIELD knew about the negotiations, the proceedings themselves would be off limits to almost all agents.  Fury would head up the negotiations with Hill and Coulson as his panel.  Hela, Queen of Helheim, expressed her disdain with the idea of dealing with the World Security Council.  Their actions during the Chitauri invasion, which culminated with their launch of a nuclear warhead on the island of Manhattan, were the exact reasons for her refusal to negotiate with them.  She specified that she would negotiate an alliance with SHIELD and the Avengers, not the World Security Council.

The Avengers were invited to attend.  They were not to be the chief participants but Fury thought it would be a positive move for them to be there for the negotiations.  It seemed Hela had developed a rapport with Clint Barton as well as some of the other Avengers.  And, if rumors circulating from some of the agents that worked on clean-up for the Chitauri-Bot incident could be believed, there was possibly something more developing between the Queen and Doctor Banner and the Hulk.  Thor would act as an intermediary, knowing both sides and more about current interstellar politics than Earth was privy to. 

The Avengers had arrived at their scheduled time, Fury reiterated with the group that they were not the chief negotiators, they were meant to be there as goodwill, representing the group that would be working with anyone from the other realm should they call upon them for assistance in defense.  Romanoff had previously been given the task of analyzing the group that was coming from the other realm as negotiations were conducted.    

Fury had used Barton to get in contact with the ruler to ask for a meeting for a potential alliance.  The meeting date and time were set and Hela would open a small portal from her realm on the roof of the headquarters building through which she and her entourage would arrive.

Fury, Coulson, Hill and the Avengers made their way to the roof and waited for the group to arrive.  Stark and Banner had set up some equipment earlier to gather data when the portal opened.  If they were feeling generous, they would share this data with Jane Foster, who was thoroughly distraught when she found out she wouldn’t be allowed to be there for the portal opening. 

At the designated time, a portal the size of a French door set opened in the center of the roof facing where the SHIELD contingent was standing. 

Hela stepped through the portal.  The right side of her body remained the same smooth pale color it usually was.  The left half of her body, however, was a greyish-black color that resembled decaying flesh.  Her skin looked like it was torn away in some places, revealing black muscle.  The fingers on her left hand were skeletal as if the skin and muscle had decayed away.  Her face remained intact but it was still the greyish black color on the left half.  Her hair remained its usually inky black throughout and was curled into ringlets that touched just above her shoulders.  Her eyes remained unchanged and were the same piercing green that they were in her other forms.  She was wearing a black armored bodice that extended up to the edge of her shoulders but remained sleeveless.  She had a black skirt that flowed to her mid-thigh with black leggings underneath.  Her black leather boots extended just over her calf and had intricate clasps up the length.  She had a black cape attached to the back of her bodice that trailed to the floor.  Atop her head sat a small crown; it was silver with emeralds lining around the sides.  In the center was a sculpted greyish-white skull that was about three inches tall with emeralds set into the eye sockets. 

“Remember the other day when I talked about badass Hela, who could fuck somebody up?”  Tony whispered to Bruce.  Bruce nodded his head not looking away from Hela.  “There she is.  She could definitely fuck somebody up.”  Tony added.

Four other people stepped through the portal, they looked like normal people except for the fact that their skin had a bluish grey tint to it.  Once they were through, Hela gave a flick of her wrist and the portal closed. 

“How is that even possible?”  Bruce asked astonished.

“I can’t wait to look at that data and see what’s going on.”  Tony replied.

Clint stepped forward and walked up to Hela.  He placed his hands on her upper arms and kissed her on both cheeks, then they embraced. 

“It’s good to see you again.”  Hela said as she trailed her fingers down his cheek.  He stepped back with the main group that was waiting for the guests to arrive.

Thor approached the group.  “Queen Hela.”  He said as he gave a small bow. 

“Prince Thor.”  Hela replied with a nod. 

“Please meet the Midgardian warriors and defenders.”  Thor said as he extended his arm towards the group waiting.

The group from Helheim proceeded forward as Fury walked to meet them. 

“Hela, this is Nick Fury, he is the leader of the organization that brought the Avengers together.”

Hela extended her right hand and Fury clasped it in greeting. 

“Queen Hela, I’m the Director of SHIELD, the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.  We work to neutralize threats and protect the Earth from threats both foreign and domestic.  This is Agent Phil Coulson and Agent Maria Hill.”  Hela nodded to the two agents.  “I think you know most of the Avengers.  Of course, you know Agent Barton.”  Hela smirked in agreement.  “This is Natasha Romanoff, also a SHIELD agent.  This is Captain Steve Rogers.”

“Ma’am.”  Steve greeted.  Hela smiled in response.

“Tony Stark.”  Fury introduced.  Tony strode forward with purpose.

“Queen Hela.” Tony said as he bent forward in a bow but took Hela’s right hand and kissed her knuckles.”  He gave her a wink as he stood. 

“Mr. Stark.”  Hela acknowledged with humor in her voice.

“Tony.  It’s Tony.”  Tony said as he strolled back to his original position.  “And you remember Bruce here, of course.  Brucie, go say hi to your girl.”  Tony said as he pushed Bruce forward, away from the spot he appeared to be anchored to.

“ _Tony._ ”  Bruce chided as he glared at Tony.  But he moved forward.

Hela moved towards Bruce.  “It’s nice to see you again Dr. Banner.”  Hela said with a bright smile, her eyes glittering as they met Bruce’s. 

Bruce gave a wide smile.  Then he shyly looked down at his feet, but he keep the smile.  “It’s nice to see you too, Hela.  But please, you can call me Bruce.”  He looked up to meet her eyes again.

“Well, then it’s nice to see you again, Bruce.”  Hela placed her hands on his elbows and leaned in to give him a chaste kiss on his cheek. 

Bruce nodded his head as he stepped back to his spot beside Tony.

Hela turned to her entourage.  “This is my chief diplomatic advisor, Sigyn.”  Hela pointed to a woman who looked a little younger than Thor.  She had long wavy brown hair.  She was wearing a blue satin long sleeved gown that flowed down to her ankles.

“Sister, it is a most welcomed surprise to see you again.”  Thor said as he embraced the woman. 

“Brother, it is also a surprise that we meet each other again in this realm.”  Sigyn said as she returned the embrace.

“This is one of my chief military advisors, Cuyler.”  Hela gestured towards a boy who looked about 13 years old.  He had short blond hair and was wearing brown leather armor that covered his arms and legs.  The SHIELD contingent only gave quirks of their brows to indicate their surprise at the position of the boy.  “This is Asmund.”  Hela pointed out another young man about 18 years of age who was wearing a silver version of armor with a blue cape down his back.  “And Brynjar.”  Hela gestured to an elderly man with a white beard and white hair that stopped at his shoulders.  They are also members of my court and advisors to the Queen.  My brother, Nari, rules as Prince Regent in my absence in Helheim, which is where he is now.      

“Let’s take our meeting inside where we can be more comfortable while we discuss things.”  Fury said as he motioned towards the door that would lead the group back inside. 

The group traveled in the elevators down to the conference room that was prepped earlier.  The group sat around the large conference table.

The first thing the group discussed was a diplomatic relationship.  This would be limited, the same as it was with the relationship between Helheim and the other realms.  No living person could maintain an extended residence in the realm of the dead and no one from the realm of the dead could maintain an existence in the realm of the living.  Hela, being of both the living and the dead realms, was the only one who could freely travel back and forth without obstacles.

“And you have alliances with all of the other realms?”  Hill asked.

“We have diplomatic alliances with all of the other realms of Yggdrasil.  We maintain no diplomatic relations with worlds outside of Yggdrasil.  We have specifically outlined military alliances with Jotunheim and Alfheim.  And just like you, sometimes we neutralize threats before they can actually threaten one of our allies.  Lately, it’s been Chitauri and Kree mercenaries.” 

“Jotunheim, Hela?”  Thor asked.

“Byleistr made contact shortly after he took the throne.  Jotunheim was decimated when…”  Hela trailed off and gave a sad look to Thor.  “There was so much disarray, they were extremely vulnerable.  There’s not much we can do except protect them if they get attacked.  What they really need is the Casket.”

There were questioning looks on the others faces after Hela’s answer.

“It would be wise for you to become educated in interstellar politics.”  Hela responded.

“My friends, I will endeavor to help you understand the basics of each realm as well as their current political state.”  Thor gave a brief smile.

“Let’s move on to discuss a military alliance.”  Fury interjected.

“It would be wise for us to outline specifically what kind of situation you would call upon us for aid.  My force is formidable and the other realms could see it as a threat if you align with us for reasons other than defense of your realm.”  Hela said.

“Could you describe what kind of troops and weaponry you have at your disposal?”  Coulson asked.

There was a slight chuckle from the Helheim unit. 

“The troops are the weapons, you see.  My army is an army of the dead.  It’s hugely difficult to stop a force that is already dead.  The children are especially destructive to enemy forces.  There are various other weapons that we use that are unique for our brand of soldier.”  Hela explained. 

“I’m not sure if we are comfortable with the use of child soldiers in battle on Earth?”  Coulson said

“Why?  They aren’t alive.  It’s not like they can die again.  That’s the beauty of it.”  Hela looked to Cuyler and they gave each other a knowing smirk.

“Regardless of that, I just think that children should not be involved in the business of war.  It seems immoral.  I don’t think we should involve ourselves with the use of children for what we are proposing even if they are not alive.”  Steve added.

Silence prevailed over the group and Hela had a thoughtful expression on her face.

“You know that I’m a midwife?” Hela started and the others gave a questioning look at this odd change of topic.  “Now you may be asking yourselves, pray tell, what use is there for a midwife in the realm of the dead?  And I’ll tell you.”  She reclined back into her seat.  “Now, mine is the realm for the un-honored dead; those who do not die _gloriously in battle_.”  Hela exaggerates a swooning tone when she speaks of those who would go to Valhalla and Fólkvangr.  “So that means mothers who die in childbirth come to me.  And sometimes the child has yet to be delivered.  That means it is up to me and those under my care to deliver the soul of the babe.  You deliver new life into your world.  We deliver new death into ours.”  Hela looked at the group with sharp eyes.  “Do not pretend to know the dealings of the dead.  Do not presume to judge me.  _I_ am the judge and the punisher and caregiver in my realm.”  Hela leaned forward and stared at the group.  “My life _is_ death.”

Hela leaned back into the chair as if it were a throne.  “We make do with what we have.  The people who we fight to defend don’t really scoff at what we use for that defense.”  Hela shrugged.  “It gives my people the chance to do something that they weren’t able to do in their previous life.  The soulforce of children is the strongest.  They can tear through an enemy force like a Midgardian horde of locusts.  It’s actually a sight to see and something we have worked to perfect over the centuries.  It ends up saving lives of those who have called upon us for assistance.  Usually it’s a formidable force that is wreaking havoc on a populous who cannot defend against it.  Many an innocent do not die because of the work my children, my _dead_ children do.  We don’t just have children in our ranks.  It’s more like a specialized force.  My army is oversized with volunteers.  When we need to collect soulforce to be channeled into use, we exceed the amount of volunteers needed.  This is something they can do.  An opportunity to make a difference.  For many it’s an opportunity they never had in the realm of the living.  I won’t deny them that opportunity now.”  She put her hand up to her chin waiting for a response from the other group.

“Well, Queen Hela, unlike some of my contemporaries, I’m not afraid of getting my hands dirty.  If using your force, no matter what it is made of, is going to save lives on my planet and not cost you any; I see that as only a win-win situation.”  Fury answered.

Hela adjusted herself but was still reclining and nodded her head in agreement with a smirk.

“Um…”  Tony broke in to the conversation.  “You said something about collecting soulforce and channeling it for use.  What did you mean by that?”

Hela sat upright as she explained.  “When we extract the soulforce from one of my subjects; the form is left as a kind of shell until it is regenerated, a similar state as to being unconscious.  The form is like that because the force of the soul is gone from the form.  The realm, itself, regenerates the soulforce within the person in about a day.  The process is not painful; it looks worse than the experience actually is for the donor.  After donation, the donor is taken and cared for until they are regenerated; they continue on as if nothing has occurred.  Think of it as a more extreme version of your Midgardian blood donation; we just take all of it instead of a pint.”

“What do you use it for?”  Bruce inquired.

“The soulforce is a type of energy.  We can use it in combat.  We actually have something we call ‘the fury of a thousand souls’.  It’s kind of like a bomb of sorts.  We make a smaller one with a hundred souls for smaller targets.  I, personally, can convert soulforce to magical energy that I can use or siphon it to another magic-user.” 

‘And this doesn’t harm the person giving their soulforce to you?”  Bruce a little uneasily.

Hela gave a kind smile.  “No, it isn’t painful and it really isn’t distressing.  The first time is a little uneasy but they get used to it the more times they do it.  It’s been described as slowly falling asleep.  The donor is taken to a specific area we have in the realm where they are safe and secure while the realm regenerates the soulforce and they regain consciousness in about a day.  We only take from volunteers.  We also only take volunteers into our fighting force.  No one is required to fight or to give up their soulforce.  We have many people in our realm that do neither.  There are many ways than a person can be of service to the realm.  While I am an absolute monarch, I am quite benevolent.”

The group discussed specifics of the types of situations that would cause a need for Hela to use her force to help defend the Earth.  They determine that it would be extreme situation where a force not from Earth was attacking and Earth’s forces were not sufficient to fend off the enemy forces.

“Now, what can Earth offer you in exchange for your services?”  Fury asked.

“I would like to know if your Midgardian scientists can create or adapt technology for inter-realm communication?  I can contact my siblings and my father; but I would like the option to communicate with those who are not my magic-using family members.”

Tony kicked Bruce under the table and then waggled his eyebrows when Bruce threw him a questioning glare.

Fury looked towards Banner and Stark, with a questioning quirk of his eyebrow.  Tony shrugged his shoulders. “Could be something to take a look at.”  Bruce nodded in agreement.

“Doctor Foster might be interesting in looking into this question also.”  Hill added.

“Aye, I will speak with my Jane and ask her if she desires to research in this particular area.”  Thor responded.

Hela looked to her other advisors.  The elderly man, Brynjar leaned in to have a whispered conference with Hela.  She looked to Asmund who nodded in agreement to what Brynjar said to Hela.

“I may have something else that might be of interest and could possible aid in answering the problem I have posed to you.”  Hela gave a twist of her wrist a device appeared on the table before them. 

Tony’s eyes grew wide.  “Is that alien tech?  Do I get to play with alien tech?” 

“We would be willing to release this into the custody of Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, with access granted to Jane Foster, should she wish to help solve this query.”  Hela explained.

“What is it?”  Clint asked as the whole group looked at it with questioning eyes. 

“This is an Omni-Wave Projector.  The Kree use it to communicate through hyperspace.  We took it off some Kree mercenary scouts that we intercepted close to Jotunheim.  They were neutralized and this was able to be salvaged from the remains.  We don’t know really anything about how it functions.  We don’t know if having this will be helpful or not.  Would you be interesting in analyzing it?”  Hela explained.

“Oh Hela, if I wasn’t already with Pepper and Brucie didn’t already have it for you bad you, would be my Queen.”  Tony said without hesitation. 

Bruce glared at Tony, everyone else on the SHIELD side of the table had wide eyes.  Thor smiled easily.  Hela chuckled to herself while her entourage smiled at the comment. 

The group finalized their negotiations and a treaty was drawn up and signed.  There was a bit of socialization occurring while the groups were getting ready to depart.

Clint and Hela were chatting when Bruce hesitantly walked up to them.

“I’ll see you in a bit, Hela.”  Clint said before walking away, giving Bruce an easy smile.

“Uh, hey.”  Bruce said to Hela.

“Hi.”  Hela answered with a smile.

“I was wondering if you were going to be around after this ended?”

Hela’s smile morphed into a smirk.  “I was going to take my people back to the realm and spend a couple of days here, visiting.” 

Bruce nodded his head.  “Would you be interested in maybe going to dinner with me, while you were here?”

“This doesn’t bother you?”  She said gesturing to the dead half of her form.

Bruce looked startled.  “No, not at all.  God, Hela, you’ve seen my other half.  Why would yours bother me?” 

Hela’s eyes had a degree of understanding, she took his hand.  “I would love to go to dinner with you, Bruce.  Does tonight work for you?”

Bruce smiled widely.  “Tonight sounds great.” He said as he squeezed her hand.

She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek again, just before she strode over to bid the others goodbye.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Please drop me a comment and let me know what you think. The comments mean the world. I PROMISE more Clint and LOKI in the next story.


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